Arrested in Kyiv, Saakashvili Sent to Poland

Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgia’s former President and active opposition leader in Ukraine, who was arrested earlier today in Kyiv, has been sent to Poland.

The information was released by Saakashvili’s close ally and spokesperson, former Georgian official, David Sakvarelidze, who wrote on Facebook: "He called! He is in Warsaw.”

RFE/RL reports that Polish border police confirmed in a statement that Saakashvili had arrived in the Polish capital and that "the basis for the admission decision was a readmission application submitted by the National Migration Service of Ukraine to the commander-in-chief of the Border Guards."

The ex-Presdent of Georgia was allowed entry into Poland as the spouse of a European Union citizen, the Polish guards said. Saakashvili’s wife is Dutch.

Oleh Slobodyan, a spokesman for the Ukrainian border guards, said on Facebook that the agency’s personnel had to use force against Saakashvili’s supporters at the airport.

Slobodyan, in confirming the deportation, cited rulings by Ukrainian courts that said Saakashvili was staying in the country illegally.

Saakashvili was arrested while he was having lunch in Georgian restaurant Sulguni on Monday afternoon. As Sakvarelidze says, he was taken by people dressed in uniform, who put him in a white minivan.

This is Saakashvili's second arrest. He was previously detained on December 5, 2017, but was soon freed by his supporters from the police car.